Monday, June 7, 2010

Life at the Whack-A-Mole

I thoroughly enjoyed the book Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl by N.D. Wilson. In Notes…Wilson shares how this world is a story unraveling before our eyes—God’s story.

Just to have a little fun with you today I’m going to write how my days unravel before me like:

Life at the Whack-A-Mole

soccer practice shuffle, getting four females dressed, four ponytails cinched, looking up the word polygon so I don’t embarrass my daughter and biff 2nd grade math homework for her, tackle the lily pads of laundry on my bedroom floor, piles of paperwork to sort through, concerted effort to have special time with each child and my husband every day, cleaning something…anything, cook something edible—not to mention my die hard discipline of cranking out 1000K per day.

There’s a glimpse of my life—I might as well be peering above a whack-a-mole. On my endless checklist of things to accomplish, I complete one only to have another little mole head pop up. Little varmint teases me with his jagged smile, furry flea-ridden head…

Another this…another that.

My to-do list is on steroids.

And you know what?

I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

However, it’s imperative I march away from the Whack-A-Mole throughout the day to take time to ride the Ferris wheel. Taking time to enjoy the view. My children will only be young for a brief blip on the radar screen of life.

I need to take time to reflect on the beauty of innocence, listening intently to the sound of their laughter, concentrating on their questions, snuggling with them while they still ask to snuggle.

I attended a graduation party over the weekend. It served as a reality check. Wake-up call. Coffee grinds in the nostrils. My kids really will only be young once.

Life demands me to keep whacking those mole heads.

If I’m wise, I’ll remember to carve out time to take in the view from the Ferris wheel.

28 comments:

Two college kids moving back in for the summer with the 14, 12, 10 and 8 year old kids has definitely been my ride for the past several weeks. The older two working with me at the bookstore and one staying home or coming home to make sure the younger kids do not get bored and we have a reasonable dinner amongst the chaos. Time really does fly when you're having fun. I love this amusement park reminder of taking time with who really counts. It will be easy for me to remember during these busy summer days.

My days are full of activites that include getting and staying healthy...a morning walk, enjoying the dawn of a new day and communicating with God, a short walk with my husband and dog in the evening enjoying and thankful for their lives, visiting friends in person and online, lots of reading, writing (but no arithmetic!!), crocheting and nature photography. And being abundantly blessed to have all this and more!

To do list on steroids - love that! Mine is too, and there are several things that need to be added to it today. Yes, savor the time now, for as you said, it passes quickly. I'm now a grandmother of a two year old. It's a little strange to think about but it really is fun, :) Have a great week!

Sweet post :) It's so important to take time away from that hectic life but it's so hard to as well. Even when I'm not physically doing something around the house, I'm still thinking of all the things that need to be done and my mind is whirling when I should be focusing completely on my kids or something else. I'm going to try to have more Ferris wheel moments!

Sounds like we're living the same life on steroids. The house will never stay clean. Embarrassingly it took me forever to realize that. Keep writing because every day counts and brings you closer to your goals!!! The kids will always take top priority. =) Bless you today!

You are so right. It seems like yesterday the twins were in the toddler stage and I was in tears wondering if they would ever grow out of the destruction phase. They are 9 now, they did grow out of the destruction phase...somewhat. Today, when the kids get home from school, I'm going to step back and enjoy the view. Thanks for the reminder.

Donna, Communicating with God and nature photography both made me sigh. This life is grand, eh?

Terri, I love volunteering. Views have a way of changing when we serve.

Jeanette, Too cool, you are a bird watcher. Do you have the funky outfit? Isn't there an outfit for that? Oh, never mind. Laughed hard at your whacking and wheeling comment!

Karen, Is it weird I'm already excited to be a grandma? But I won't wish these days away. Sometimes I'm so tired I do wonder if I'll remember them though. That's where writing helps. I record a good deal. I have a whole journal of funny things my kiddos have done.

Cindy, I spend an equal amount of time thinking about what needs to be done too. I was pumped to wake up thinking about a short story. Actually got me out of bed before my girls. Hoping the crazy will wear off me soon.

T.Anne, Thanks, woman. I'm having people over tomorrow and I'm fairly certain I'm doing it so I'll clean my house.

Diane, I don't know if yours ride the bus, but there is something precious about that moment they step down off the bus and race for the door. I love the faces on my girls at that moment.

You are made of awesome, Wendy! Life is like that--hectic, busy, crazy. And wonderful. Thank you for the reminder that we need to know when to step away and take a ride on the ferris wheel. :) I hope you have a great Monday!

As I read Noble Efforts, and these posts, I'm quite confident I could pick your writing out of a thousand others and be able to say, "Yep, Wendy wrote this." You have such a distinct voice, in both your novels and your blog posts!

What a great post...I love how you relate it to whacking moles. and I agree to stop...play...be. Really hard to do but once I get my head around it...total fun. And my oldest and I have been talking about how tall she's gotten, two more years...she'll be driving. Yikes...Time flies...

Yesterday, I had a talk with a friend. She is taking four three-year-olds to their first horse show. She has worked herself into a tizzy. I told her to enjoy the journey. She laughed and said - Oh, I wish I would.

Sometimes we get caught up in the moments and can't see the big picture - the journey.

Oh and I have some moles in my yard I wish someone would wack. I'm just saying....

It's easy to get caught up in daily life and forget the important things. We're stewards of our time on earth. It's a non-renewable commodity. I want to live life making deliberate choices rather than being driven by the urgent.

Wendy: With a retired husband and an unemployed almost middle-aged son, my days are pretty-well the same. Add some of the 'ritis' brothers to my mix and my life is almost the same year round. I did like your thought about kids only being young once though, it's so true.